Cherry Oak School
Working Together for Success
Cherry Oak School
Working Together for Success
Latest News
Check here for the latest updates and news
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Update 20th May 2020
Wed 20 May 2020Dear parents/carers
Thank you for your ongoing support at this difficult time. We have managed to speak to most of you regarding your decisions about sending your child back to school in June.
All special schools in Birmingham have taken the join decision that we will not be reopening on June 1st. The local authority are aware of this collective decision. All special schools in Birmingham will work to a model of safely increasing the numbers of pupils in school based on need throughout June. The main priority is to focus on pupils whose parents are key workers and pupils who are classed as our most vulnerable. All special schools are aware that the numbers of pupils that fall into these groups are increasing due to more parents being required to work and more families become vulnerable due to the impact of the ongoing situation.
Following the discussions we have had with you, we know there is a need to increase numbers at Cherry Oak from Monday 1st June. For this first week in June we will be focusing on providing places to those families who need their child to be in school due to work commitments and those who need their child in school due to their vulnerability. We will continue to offer a mixture of full time and part time places based on these needs. We will then review the impact of these increased numbers in line with our risk assessment to evaluate how we can increase further from 8th June. We will then hope to include children who do not fall into the 2 groups but parents have expressed a desire for them to return to school later in June.
We will be contacting all families who we are allocating places to for the week beginning 1st June. If you are not contacted by 3pm on Friday 22nd May then you can presume your child will not be attending school during the first week in June. If you feel we have wrongly assessed your need to send your child to school please contact me directly. We will then contact families again during the week ending 5th June.
I hope you can understand the approach we have taken. This approach focuses on safety of our pupils and staff and we want to ensure that no one is being put at risk.
Please feel free to phone me on the school number if you wish to discuss this.
Thank you again for your patience and understanding.
Amy
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National Teacher's Day
Wed 20 May 2020Today is National Teachers' Day so I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the teachers, teaching assistants, therapists, nurses, administrators, site staff, ICT support staff, cleaners, cooks, drivers and guides,who make it possible for our young people to receive an outstanding education. During this time of COVID-19 lockdown, many have been working harder than every to offer direct care and education to children in attendance, remote education to those who are at home and the myriad of pastoral care tasks that keep children safe and fed and cared for, wherever they are. We are still in uncertain times, but one thing that is certain is that education continues to be one of the most important gifts we can give to our young people to prepare them to take their place in society as valued citizens. On this National Teachers' Day I thank each and every one of you. -
Cherry Oak's Promotional Video For Mini Brum At The Think Tank
Fri 15 May 2020Cherry Oak School supported Fade Productions & Open Theatre in producing a promotional video for Mini Brum in Birmingham.
We supported in advising the teams how to make the areas SEN friendly and wanted to show families what to expect when they arrive at Mini Brum.
Please take a look at the work the group has produced.
Thank you to all of the children involved in the making of the video.
We had hoped to hold a premiere at school but in the current climate, this isn't possible so please enjoy it from the comfort of your homes!
Cherry Oak At Mini Brum - Click Here To Watch
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Update 11th May 2020
Mon 11 May 2020Dear Parents and Carers,
We expect that you will have watched the Prime Minister’s address yesterday evening. Further details are due to be released and we will be reviewing the guidance and its implications for special schools. At the moment, we have no further information and so currently nothing has changed and the school remains open only to the children of key workers and those who have been identified as being particularly vulnerable from our safeguarding data. We will update you as and when more information becomes available. In the meantime, we hope that you and your family remain safe and well.
Thanks
Amy
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Update 7th May 2020
Thu 07 May 2020Dear all parents and carers,
I hope that you are all continuing to keep safe and well. Thank you for your continuing support of the school and all the staff. I have spoken to many parents over the last few weeks and the class teachers are keeping me up to date and informed following their weekly conversations and contact with you. The teachers have commented on the positive relationships they have continued to develop with you during this difficult time.
Our weekly timetable of zoom sessions is continuing to develop. It is really lovely to see how many of our families are engaging with these sessions. We do not want to put any pressure on families but want to continue to offer you a range of different activities that you can incorporate into your daily timetable. All the staff that are taking part (including myself) are enjoying staying in contact and seeing the positive responses we are getting from the children. Can I remind all parents that when you join a zoom session you are taking full responsibility for your child during that session.
There has been a lot of discussion in the media about what the next steps will be for schools. We continue to only have as much information as the general public. However, I want to reassure you that we will continue to work with the Local Authority and follow the guidance set both locally and Nationally to ensure the safety of us all. We continue to be open as a childcare provider for children of key worker parents and our most vulnerable pupils according to our safeguarding data. We will update you when this situation changes.
None of us expected to be in this situation and it has had a huge impact on all of us but your kindness and support has really meant a lot to all of us here at Cherry Oak School. We are all missing all of our pupils and the usual routine of life at Cherry Oak School and will look forward to the time when we can safely be together again.
Thanks
Amy
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Accessing The School App
Mon 27 Apr 2020For anyone needing a bit of help getting set up or navigating 'The School App', CLICK HERE
To download the app, search for The School App on the App/Play store, or click the following links
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Update - Friday 24th April 2020
Fri 24 Apr 2020Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you are all staying safe and well. I know these are difficult times for us all and I appreciate all the positive communication we have had with you throughout this.
Cherry Oak School has been open this week to provide emergency childcare to children of key workers and our most vulnerable children as determined by our safeguarding date. We will continue to be open as a childcare provider. If you feel your child falls into one of the categories of needing a place at our emergency childcare then please discuss this with your child's class teacher or contact me directly on the school number.
Thank you to our dedicated teams of staff who have been looking after the children in our childcare. Staff are also working hard to support families with home learning. We sent packs home before going into lockdown and have been regularly updating our website with resources. We are also working on new packs for you to use at home. These packs are going to be delivered by teams of staff next week. The staff are going to be using the school buses to visit your address and deliver the resources. We will of course be observing social distancing but hope we will be able to take the opportunity to at least be able to wave at you all! If you have any concerns or objections to this can you please contact me directly. We can't give a time on when these visits will be happening but hope to visit all of our families (who are not accessing our childcare) during next week.
Our highlight this week has been the introduction of virtual sessions through the use of Zoom. It has been wonderful to see so many of our pupils and their families taking part and enjoying the familiarity of things we do in school including our favourite singing and signing. We are going to continue to develop the virtual sessions that we can do so please keep an eye out for what will be happening.
Stay safe and take care
Amy
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Help with fundraising
Fri 24 Apr 2020Fundraising doesn’t just bring urgently needed funds into the school’s coffers, it can also bring the local community together. In these challenging times, people are starting to come together like never before. Now is a great time to get creative with your fundraising ideas and start to plan ahead for the better days to come. For great ideas on how you could help, here are
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Staying mentally well during the Coronavirus Pandemic - Resources for adults and children
Mon 06 Apr 2020Two Free Courses to Support You During the Coronavirus Pandemic
We’ve developed two free courses to support you at this time:
- COVID19 – Staying Mentally Well – which walks you through simple steps you can take to try to look after your emotional wellbeing
- Simple Self-Soothe Strategies – which introduces you to five simple strategies for relaxation and self-soothing which can be used by adults or children.
- COVID19 – Staying Mentally Well – which walks you through simple steps you can take to try to look after your emotional wellbeing
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Cherry Oak School Closure And Essential Childcare Provision From Monday 20th April
Fri 03 Apr 2020To Parents/Carers
I have so many things to thank you all for. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this incredibly difficult time. Thank you for being so responsive about staying in touch with us whilst the school building has been closed. Thank you for working hard at home with your children and accessing the learning resources that we have provided. Most importantly, I want to thank all families for making arrangements to ensure all Cherry Oak pupils and staff have been able to follow the government advice to stay at home since 24th March 2020.
Following risk assessment of the situation, Cherry Oak School will continue to be closed until further notice to all pupils except:
Children of parents who are a key worker
Children in a vulnerable category according to our safeguarding data and risk assessments
Cherry Oak School will only be open to those children by direct invitation from myself.
We will be open to those children as a childcare provider from Monday 20th April. I have and will continue to speak to the parents who need this childcare. Please be patient whilst I contact those parents over the coming week.
I will continue to risk assess each pupil’s situation and will respond to parents' concerns. If you feel your child should be classed as needing a place and you have not been contacted about this by 9th April 2020 then please phone me on the school number to discuss this.
I would really like to stress that the government’s advice has not changed and they are still clear that children are safest at home and that everyone should be staying at home unless it is absolutely necessary:
We will continue to be closed to all staff and pupils until April 20th as all parents have indicated they have arrangements in place to look after their child safely at home. However, if this situation changes for any family you must either phone me at school or contact your child’s class teacher.
Although we are physically closed we continue to open ‘virtually’ and will continue to support our pupils and families and will continue to provide work and learning opportunities through email and the website.
The days, weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and we need everyone to play their part. Please let me do mine by providing emergency childcare for those that need it. Sending children into emergency childcare when it is not necessary will jeopardise our ability to safely support those parents who need it most. Please play your part by not sending your child in if they can be safely cared for at home and continue to protect the NHS and save lives.
Warm Regards
Amy Findlay
Head of School